Andre

OK, pretty much ready with my Sicily itinerary. <BR><BR>Would really appreciate your feedback!<BR><BR>Day 1: Arrive @ Catania airport around 17:30. Pick up rental car, drive to Siracusa &amp; check in to Grand Hotel.<BR><BR>Day 2: Explore Siracusa, possibly see play at the greek theater in the evening.<BR><BR>Day 3: Drive out to Villa Casale, then continue to Agrigento - overnight at Villa Athena.<BR><BR>Day 4: Valle dei Templi<BR><BR>Day 5: Leave Agrigento for Erice via Segesta &amp; perhaps Selinunte. Overnight at Hotel La Pineta in Erice.<BR><BR>Day 6: Explore Erice, then head for Palermo. Drop car and check into Centrale Palace or Grand Hotel &amp; des Palmes.<BR><BR>Day 7: sightseeing - focus on Palazzo dei Normanni &amp; area<BR><BR>Day 8: sightseeing - focus on Monreale<BR><BR>Day 9: Morning sightseeing in Palermo, late afternoon hydrofoil to Lipari<BR><BR>Day 10: Explore Lipari<BR><BR>Day 11: Boat trip to Stromboli (&amp; maybe Panarea)<BR><BR>Day 12: Hydrofoil to Messina, car or bus to Taormina. Check in at... (have a pretty long list of options to check out at this point)<BR><BR>Day 13: Taormina<BR><BR>Day 14: Taormina<BR><BR>Day 15: Morning transfer to Catania airport for flight home.<BR><BR>My main question is: should I skip Siracusa? It's the only town I've seen mixed reviews of. <BR><BR>An alternative would be to spend the first night in Enna and go from there to Agrigento via the Villa Casale. This would give me an extra day - where would you tack it on - Palermo, Lipari or Taormina?<BR><BR>Looking forward to your feedback!<BR><BR>Andre

Andre

Forgot to mention that I was considering Hotel Carasci on Lipari.<BR><BR>Andre

GAC

I would certainly not skip Siracusa. Its Archeological Museum is fantastic, as is the Greek Theatre. Ortygia Island is very atmospheric. The Grand Hotel there is really tops. Have you read my review of the Hotel Carasco in Lipari?

Maddy

Andre I visited Siracusa for the first time last June and really enjoyed it. The Greek theater and archaeological zone was a well-spent afternoon and there are a couple of museums that you may find worthwhile. <BR><BR>The sights are nice enough, but I really enjoyed just walking around Ortygia (the old part of town). There are some wonderful squares and overall I found the old part of Siracusa very atmospheric and unlike any of the other places I've visited in Sicily. Maybe some of the negative impressions were from people who didn't stay in Ortygia...some parts of the new city seemed kind of seedy. <BR><BR>We stayed on the opposite (east) side of Ortygia from where your hotel is located but went for dinner and an evening stroll over by the Foro Italico. From outward appearances it does live up to its name...clearly the nicest hotel that I saw in Siracusa. <BR><BR>I've not been to Lipari so I can't comment on whether it deserves more time but maybe GAC will answer on that. If I read your itinerary correctly you have 3 nights in Taormina which I think is enough time unless you plan to do daytrips. <BR><BR>You could find plenty to fill an extra day in Palermo but it depends on your interests and how much time you want to spend in the city vs. more laidback resort areas. <BR><BR>Palermo is noisy, controlled chaos ... but don't be put off when you first arrive. Palermo really does grow on you, has some unique and terrific sights, and great food. And if you need a break, you can always take a ride out to the Mondello beach area. <BR>

cmt

I like your itinerary, and I definitely do NOT think you should skip Siracusa. I was there only once, and it was 30 years ago, so I can't give you any details or impressions of the hotels of the atmosphere in the streets. (I do remember that at the time I didn't find it as VISUALLY appealing as some of the other places I visited.) It is so important historically that you should find some way to include it in this trip, and I think you'll come home with some feeling for the variety of geography and historical influences in Sicily. <BR><BR>If you'd also like to get a little glimpse of the ancient Phoenician culture, you might consider taking a day trip (maybe from Erice) to Mozia, a little island not far from Trapani. <BR><BR>Re the Aeolian islands: I stayed on Lipari, but never got to see Stromboli and Panarea. I loved Salina, though.

Elizabeth_S

We stayed at Hotel Carasco (after reading GAC's review) and highly recommend it.<BR><BR>My only comment would be not to miss Selinunte - the location is glorious.<BR><BR>I have a big file of Sicily restaurant recommendations (some of them ours, some cut and pasted from various sources) - if you would like a copy e-mail me at [email protected]<BR><BR><BR>

toni

Alas, we plan on visiting the Aeolion Islands just for the day in June. Could we manage some sort of day boat trip similar to the one Patrick described, and still visit Lipari Town before returning to Taormina. Is it best to get the hydrofoil from Messina or Milazzo when coming from Taormina? We plan on getting the earliest hydrofoil and the latest return.

Andre

So, clearly Siracusa is a must-see.<BR><BR>Now I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't skip Lipari and tack on extra days to Palermo and Taormina instead. This would also allow me to see Cefalu en route as well.<BR><BR>GAC, I most certainly read your review of the Carasco - that's why I want to stay there!<BR><BR>Many thanks for your offer, Elizabeth, I'll send you my e-mail address. Other restaurant recs are more than welcome!<BR><BR>Now let's just hope these hotels still have room...<BR><BR>Andre

bellini

Andre<BR>I'd certainly choose Siracusa over Enna. We stayed on Ortygia Island which is great-very atmospheric and lovely to just walk around. Our itinerary (for your interest) was 3 nights in Palermo, 1 night Erice (stopped at Segesta on the way- wonderful!) 2 nights Agrigento<BR>3 nights Siracusa and 3 nights in Cefalu<BR>Recommende restaurants- Palermo- Ristorante SantAndrea; Siracusa- La Foglia in Via Capodieci; Cefalu- Ristorante La Brace

Patrick

One can always pick an itinerary to pieces. I've read yours over and over and digested it.<BR>I WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING -- IT SOUNDS SIMPLY GREAT!<BR><BR>Erice is beautiful --especially the views from there, but there is little to do. I'm not saying you won't enjoy the two nights there, but you will also have time to go down to Trapani and explore the fish markets, etc. which is kind of fun.

cmt

Following up on Patrick's suggestion: If you go to Trapani, you can also visit the salt flats and see how sea salt is harvested--very interesting and unusual.

cmt

P.S. Without changing your itinerary, I think you will still have time to see Cefal&ugrave;. It's only an hour from Palermo by train. If you don't have much time to spend there, you could still get an impression of the town in a few hours by visiting the cathedral and walking around the small historic center. Palermo is of course very important and there's a lot to see there. But you don't have to try to see everything or even a lot on your first visit, so I don't think you need to add more nights there. Unlike some other places in Sicily, Palermo is easy to get to, and whenever you re-visit Sicily, it's quite likely that you will either arrive or depart via Palermo. Therefore you may have many more opportunities to see that you might miss on your first visit.

GAC

Message for Toni: from Taormina, CST organizes day trips to Lipari and to Lipari/Vulcano (each once per week). You can also go there on your own, by taking a bus to Messina and thence a hydrofoil to Lipari Town. However, I would recommend the organized tour, which is more efficient. See www.compagniasicilianaturismo.it

Andre

OK OK, I promise to stop fiddling!<BR><BR>Patrick: I'm only spending 1 night in Erice.<BR><BR>CMT: I realize I COULD see Cefalu - for example by spending an extra night in Palermo, taking the train to Cefalu in the morning and then taking a hydrofoil to Lipari from there. I would lose a precious day in the Aeolians though and I just want to avoid turning this trip into a total marathon... Guess I'll have to come back <BR><BR>Thanks again to all those who have helped me out - look for a trip report from me in late June!<BR><BR>Andre

GAC

Andre: If you see the Cathedral of Monreale, the one in Cefalu will be an understatement. Don't sacrifice Lipari for Cefalu.

cmt

You'll have lots of opportunities to see Cefal&ugrave; on one of your return trips to Sicily because it's so easy to get there from Palermo. I was just mentioning that if you VERY much want to go there asap, you still could manage to do so, under your existing itinerary. If you'll be taking this trip at a warm time of year, that would be a good time to see the Aeolians. But if you're going within a few weeks, i.e. in winter, you could skip it and save it for a future trip.<BR><BR>I like your itinerary as is.<BR>

Patrick

Duh, so glad I said I read it over and over and digested it. Could have sworn there were two nights in Erice. But your plan is good. You may want to just explore a bit in Trapani then before going up or after coming down from Erice.<BR><BR>Regarding Cefalu, I'm no expert. Had planned to see it this year, but it was pouring rain, so we just kept going and got to Milazzo earlier. But from what I've always heard, we didn't miss all that much, except some wonderful beaches, which being a Floridian didn't mean much to me.

Andre

Well, called SNAV (the hydrofoil operator) today and they informed me that the Palermo-Lipari and Lipari-Messina services will only start running on June 15! <BR><BR>Question: we had originally intended to go from May 30 to June 13. In order to take advantage of the direct hydrofoils, we would need to postpone our departure to June 13 (these are weekly charter flights), return on June 27.<BR><BR>Is there a good chance that it will be significantly hotter in Agrigento, Palermo etc. if we go 2 weeks later? What temps should we expect?<BR><BR>Andre

GAC

Andre, f.y.i., the Lipari to Messina SNAV hydrofoil is once daily all year round (I believe early morning), and up to five times daily during the summer (after June 15). From Palermo, in liue of the direct hydrofoil, you could always take an early afternoon train to Milazzo, and thence a late afternoon hydrofoil to Lipari (although the direct summer hydrofoil leaving at 7:30 or 16:45 is much preferable). The Milazzo train station is NOT within walking distance of the hydrofoil docks, and a taxi will cost 10 Euros (there is also local bus service). June 15 is sometimes considered a demarcation line between late spring and summer, although weather patterns have become extremely unpredictable during the past decade. It is now quite common for late May to have hot weather, followed by up to two weeks of rainy, cool weather in early June.

GAC

Andre, through June 14, the SNAV (Winter service) hydrofoil departs Lipari once daily at 7:00 and arrives Messina 8:20. Fare is 19.11 Euros. Naturally, the service is interrupted during inclement weather. See www.bookingitalia.it